Better Than True Love
by sterolinetrash
Summary: A compilation of Stefan and Caroline one-shots/drabbles. Got any requests? Review or PM me :) {ratings may change}
1. Twist of Fate

**So I'm creating this as a place where I can write one-shots or drabbles about Steroline.**

 **If anyone wants, you can also request prompts in the comments.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt: What if Elena and Stefan weren't the only doppelgängers?**_

* * *

 _1864_

"Miss Caroline, I still do not feel that it is wise for you to leave home so suddenly. Your father will not be happy," Amelia tried to convince her stubborn master.

"I do not care, Amelia. That vile man puts his hands on every single woman in town and it embarrasses me to even think of him as being related to me." Caroline Forbes spat out as she stepped off of her carriage, ignoring the man who was holding his hand out to help her out. Her prominent blue eyes were glazing with anger and her hair was loose, bouncing as she straightened out her dress.

"He is the Sheriff, Madame. He will not-"

"He is no longer someone I would like to call family, Amelia." Caroline turned to her handmaiden with an irritated expression. "I would rather be a bastard than be the daughter of William Forbes. I do not care for this pathetic talk of him any longer. Amelia, whose house is this?" Caroline looked up at the house she would be staying at for a while - or at least until her brother came to take her to where he was currently living, with his wife and son. It surprised her that no one had stepped out to check who was approaching their home.

"This is the house of Giuseppe Salvatore. He has two sons who also reside with him - Stefan Salvatore and Damon Salvatore."

Caroline recoiled. "Did you just say Stefan Salvatore?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes, he is the younger brother."

Caroline could not help but blush and looked away from Amelia. She had seen Stefan Salvatore at a ball before but never had the courage to say anything to him or even stand in his way. She'd always secretly thought of how wonderful it would be if he had later asked for her hand in marriage.

He was a gorgeous man, if she should say it herself. His eyes were what had first caught her attention - those beautiful green eyes. He seemed like a kind spirit as well. He had brushed off her father's disgusting comment about a lady passing by without making a scene yet he still settled with telling him that the lady was not interested.

"Are you sure they'd be willing to take me in?" Caroline asked, already feeling nervous.

"They are very kind in these matters. They have enough space for you, Misses."

Caroline smiled lightly. "Well, then, I guess we shall approach."

They looked to the outside of the home where there was no one shown. Puzzled, Caroline turned to Amelia. "Was it not informed to them that I'd be arriving?"

"It was. I made sure of it."

"Well, I'll knock on the door myself," Caroline nonchalantly stated, walking towards the door.

Just as Caroline took a step, there was a sound behind her, sounding like wind. She turned around to see a lady smiling at her wickedly.

"Hello, I hear that you were coming to occupy the Salvatore mansion?"

"Yes, for a while until my brother comes to take me with him to Whitmore," Caroline nodded.

"Unfortunately, there has been a misplacement. Another lady has come to stay. She is an orphan by the name of Katherine Pierce. I am her handmaiden, Emily."

"Oh." Caroline tried to mask her disappointment at the news. "Are you sure there is no more room for me and my handmaiden?" Caroline gestured towards Amelia.

"No, unfortunately. I'm very sorry to inform you of this, Misses Forbes."

"It's fine." This means that Caroline would have to stay with another family until her brother came for her. There is no hope for the Stefan and Caroline story after all.

"Amelia, is it possible if we could approach the Lockwood's or another family for a place to stay? Maybe we should choose someone outside of the founding families. They might not be as trustworthy as the Salvatores." Caroline turned away from Emily.

"Of course, madame," Amelia nodded.

With that, Emily saw her off as she and Amelia went into the carriage away from the Salvatores. Emily could not help but feel a little bit of uncertainty towards the blonde lady.

Perhaps one day, she'd find out why.


	2. Time Traveling

**Hey sooooo thank you guys for the positiveness and I'm so glad that I got so many requests in my messages :) I will get to writing them but I need to start off with something so lol here you go**

* * *

 ** _Prompt: Stefan goes back in time to the pilot episode to where it all began._**

 ** _To the reader who gave me the prompt - I'm not sure if this is what you asked for but here you go haha_**

* * *

 _Present Time_

"Stefan, it's too risky," Caroline tries to convince her fiancé as he runs around, looking for his vervain gun.

"It doesn't matter, Care. I have to," Stefan muttered as he finally found the gun and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"And if something goes wrong?" she attempts to talk him out of it again.

" _Caroline_." Stefan finally turns towards his stubborn fiancée with an exasperated look. "I don't have much time. Nothing will go wrong as long as I stick to the plan. You need to trust me on this, okay?" He reaches towards her and cups her cheek with his hand, hoping she'd calm down.

"Stefan, we aren't talking about the normal craziness in our lives. We're talking about _time travel_. What if you get stuck in there forever? What if you have to live everything over again? What if you mess up one single thing and everything else changes? This is too dangerous, Stefan!" Caroline shakes her head.

"Listen, it's our only chance. I can't let Damon die," Stefan explains, using his other hand to hold her face in place. "I need to find that clue."

Caroline glared at him. "Our only chance involves you doing something incredibly stupid and insane. You say one thing out of place or if you do something different than what you did before, you change it all. You'll change everything. You know that?"

Stefan sighs, resting his forehead on hers, closing his eyes. "I can't waste any more time, Care. I need to go."

Caroline grits her teeth and stares at him for a moment, wondering if he's actually serious or if this is all a joke. She slumps her shoulders in disappointment and wiggles out of his hands. "Fine. Go. Do whatever you need to do."

Stefan blinks back in confusion, letting his hands rest by his sides and watches her as she stalks away from him and heads towards their bedroom. He frowns at her indifference. _I love you, too, you stubborn control freak,_ he thinks to himself.

He shakes his head and walks towards Damon's room where Bonnie is preparing for the spell to take him back to the past - where it all began.

"I'm ready," he announces the moment he steps in. Bonnie, Enzo and Alaric all look up at the sound of his voice.

Bonnie approaches Stefan with uncertainty. "Stefan, are you a hundred percent sure?"

"Yeah." Hopefully by the time he'd be back, Caroline would have forgiven him.

 _Ha. Like that's gonna happen._

"Okay then stand right here." Bonnie points to an area which she surrounded with salt and unlit candles. Stefan carefully steps over and stands at the center of the circle, waiting for her to do the spell.

"Stefan, take this," Bonnie hands him a watch showing the current time and day. "You need to be back in 24 hours. No more than that. Or else the spell will be reversed and you will be left there. Without this, you have no connection to this time or place. You can't lose this."

Stefan nods. "Got it."

"To come back, you need to drink this. It's my blood. It will transport you back here." She hands him a small little tube, stepping over the circled area. "Make sure you don't lose that."

Stefan nods again. "Okay."

She hands him another tube. "This is the part of my blood you'll be drinking right now. I'll tell you when to drink it."

"Okay."

"You can't do anything different. You have to do everything the same. You need to make sure that after you find the clue, you don't make a big deal of it. You get it and leave. You cannot act like you know any of us or anything that happened. Remember to act normal. Don't tell anyone you're from the future."

Stefan nods. "I got it, Bonnie."

"Great," Bonnie sighs. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure."

"Then it's time to start the spell," Bonnie sighs, stepping out of the circle. " _Incendia."_

The moment she says it, the candles all light up, indicating that the spell is about to begin. She closes her eyes and begins the spell. Stefan ignores the nerves he feels and focuses on her spell.

 _"Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Viras. Phasmatos Tribum Nas Tribas. Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Viras."_ Bonnie chants the same words at least six times before she finally opens her eyes. "Drink it."

Stefan takes a deep breath before opening the tube and chugging the blood. He drops the test tube on the floor and Bonnie begins to chant louder.

 _"Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Viras. Phasmatos Tribum Nas Tribas. Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Viras!"_

Stefan closes his eyes once he begins to feel the floor beneath him move and dissolve. His vision becomes clouded with flashes of light and reality. Bonnie's voice becomes distant and his hands begin to feel warm.

"Stefan!" Caroline's voice breaks through. _Where did she come from?_

Stefan opens his eyes. "Caroline?" His voice sounds unfamiliar to his own ears as the ground begins to shake.

"Be careful!" Caroline shouts.

He smiles at her but before he could say anything back, a blinding light breaks him away and before he knows it, everything disappears. He closes his eyes due to the brightness of the light.

Everything is silent.

* * *

 _The Past_

Stefan hears nothing at first but then sounds of chatter and mindless talk pass by him. He opens his eyes and realizes he's back in the past and he's outside of the school building, currently wearing his sunglasses and is on his way to the office to register for class.

He looks around and realizes that right now he should be walking inside the building. He quickly gets to it and starts walking.

 _Okay, go to the front. Get your forms checked out. Compel the woman. Walk out. Meet Elena._

Piece of cake.

After walking into the building and heading to the office, he compels the woman on schedule when asked about transcripts and immunization records. Blah blah.

Honestly, why the hell would Caroline so worried? Everything is perfectly okay.

After getting that taken care of, he walks out and almost bursts into laughter when he sees Bonnie checking him out. _If only she knew._

He walks away from her, trying not to break into a grin when he looks around and suddenly does a double take.

Caroline.

Looking at him.

He couldn't help but smile to himself in awe as he realized that she was definitely admiring him and he hadn't even noticed when it happened.

Okay, focus.

Stefan tore his eyes away from Caroline's innocent yet dazzling ones and headed towards the mens' room where he'd meet Elena.

He could see his own Caroline when he went back to his own time.

* * *

Stefan checked the watch Bonnie had given him. He still hadn't found the clue and he suspected it would come up later when he met his brother.

So far, he'd done everything according to plan. He'd met with Elena, both in school and in the cemetery. It freaked him out a little, considering she was in a sleeping spell and they currently were just good friends, but he went through with it. He had tried not to make it obvious when he'd met with Bonnie, Elena and Caroline that he'd known about the bonfire already. He tried his best not to make eye contact with his current girlfriend but honestly, how could he not?

She was so enthusiastic. And so _innocent_ \- as if she wasn't able to kill 12 witches at once. Caroline Forbes as a human humored him - yet also intrigued him. How could he have not paid attention to her before?

Just as he was approaching the bonfire, he realized that Vicky Donovan was about to be attacked in the woods. He felt a little remorseful for not being able to help her, seeing as Matt was quite helpless now, but he couldn't do anything to change it.

What if Vicky's attack was what the clue was about? Was Cade going to be planning to do something in the woods? What if -

"Hey! You made it!" a bubbly voice broke him out of his thoughts.

He stared at his fiancée who was beaming at him with bright eyes.

 _What is going on?_

Then he remembered.

 _You and me - it's not gonna happen._

Well, this should be interesting.

At least he had a little time to kill before then.

He cracked a smile.

"Um." _Shit, what did he say again?_ "I did."

"Well, let's get you a drink," Caroline suggested in the tone which Stefan now could recognize as her seductive tone. He should know - she used it on him all the time.

And it always worked.

"Uh, well I'm-"

"Oh, come on." Caroline grabbed his hand, surprising him. She led him towards the drinks table and he couldn't help but chuckle at how perky she was.

Damn it, how did he not fall for her this exact moment?

* * *

Everything blurred by Stefan. He was anxiously looking for any hints at how Cade could be planning to overtake Damon and at the same time, he was awaiting the time where he'd be saying the biggest lie of his life to the girl he was hopelessly in love with.

Later, when he was supposed to be "approaching" Elena, Caroline came up to him.

 _Okay, here it goes._

"Hey! There you are," Caroline grins. "Have you been down to the Falls yet? Because they are _really_ cool at night. I can show you - if you want." She was using that tone on him again.

 _God, I love her._

"I think you've had too much to drink." Stefan politely smiled when he wanted to laugh. He couldn't help but remember all the times they'd gotten drunk together. Drunk Caroline was one of his favorite Caroline's.

"Well, _of_ _course_ I have," Caroline giggled. "So..."

Here it comes.

"Caroline."

He was so oblivious.

"You and me."

He was so wrong.

"It's not gonna happen."

But it will.

Stefan paused to examine Caroline's face. He wanted to take it back the moment the words came out of his mouth but he couldn't - that's what had happened before. The look on her face made him feel guilty in so many ways. All he wanted to do was kiss her and tell her he was so wrong but all he could do was take a step away.

"I'm sorry."

He headed towards Elena, trying not to snap at her for her attitude towards Caroline when he remembered something later, as they talked on the bridge.

The Falls.

The answer is in the Falls.

He didn't know how he knew but he just did.

He was done. He had his answer.

"Stefan?" Elena's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he looked up at her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, uh. Sorry."

He half listened and half thought about what this could mean. Why would Cade's clue have something to do with the falls?

* * *

Later, he had a chance to break away from Elena when she found Jeremy in the woods. He slowly slid away to another corner to take out Bonnie's blood and transport himself back.

After making sure he was in the clear, he opened the tube and quickly swallowed her blood. Right after he did, he could feel the ground move beneath him again and voices around him started to sound distant and far away. Everything around him started to fade away and bright lights were flashing everywhere. He closed his eyes as a shining bright light overtook everything he could see and winced.

Soon, the ground became steady and the voices had finally drifted away.

* * *

 _Present_

Stefan opened his eyes to see Caroline in front of him, just outside of the circle. He sighed in relief as he realized he was finally home.

"Stefan!" Caroline called joyously as she stepped into the circle, just as Bonnie blew off all the candles and immediately embraced him. He put his arms around her, relieved that she still wasn't mad at him.

"Thank God," she whispered, hugging him even tighter. Stefan closed his eyes, relieved to be holding her once again and feeling nostalgic as her sweet scent overtook his senses.

Finally she pulled away from him. "Did you find the clue?" she asked, grabbing his shoulders as her blue eyes roamed over his face.

He nodded. "I did."

Bonnie cleared her throat. "What is it?"

"It's the Falls."

Caroline's expression immediately changes from worry to confusion.

"The Falls? Are you sure?" Bonnie asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

Stefan nods again. "I'm sure."

Caroline finally seems to arrive at realization and pulls away from Stefan slowly as she tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Alaric stands up from the bed and grabs a stake. "Then I guess that's where we're heading. Bonnie and Enzo can come with me."

Stefan grabs Caroline's hand, despite her attempt to step away from him. "Okay, Caroline and I will go in my car. We'll meet you there."

Enzo grabs a vervain gun from the stash. "Sounds good then. Grab your spell book, Bonnie."

* * *

Later, once they get into the car, Stefan starts to drive towards the Falls. Caroline surprisingly doesn't say a word and stays silent throughout.

Once Stefan reaches the stoplight, he finally speaks up. "Caroline?"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, definitely."

"You haven't said a word, you know."

"Yeah, um, I just have a really sore throat."

Stefan raises an eyebrow. "Caroline."

"Yeah?"

"Vampires don't get sore throats."

"Vampires don't get pregnant either but well..." Caroline shrugs, drumming her fingers on her thigh.

Stefan sighs. "You know, I met you...old you, when I went back."

"Uh huh." Caroline seems to stiffen. Stefan notices and bites back a laugh.

"And you were quite...bold."

"Was I? Huh, didn't know."

Stefan smirks. "You seemed interested in me."

Caroline stays silent, only tapping her foot nervously just as the light went green.

Stefan pressed on the accelerator, trying not to let out a laugh. "You asked me out."

She finally groaned, throwing her head back. "Just get it out."

"You were _so_ into me."

"Ha ha."

"You totally loved my hero hair."

"Yeah yeah, I asked you to come with me, you flat out told me no and said it would never happen between us and you had your happily ever after with Elena. Yay." Stefan spots Caroline turning away from him from the corner of his eye.

"You're forgetting something," Stefan nudges her.

"What?" Caroline blandly snaps.

"Just the fact that Elena and I didn't last or have a happily ever after, I was a hundred percent wrong, and _this_ actually became the opposite of what I said we were."

"Whatever," she mumbled.

"Care." Stefan stops at another red light. "You do realize you're the one who's supposed to be teasing me about this, right?"

"About what? The fact that you didn't want me before and now you turn to me after the whole Elena thing?" Caroline scoffs.

Stefan frowns and grabs her hand. "Well actually, I thought you and I were past this whole Elena thing."

"We are. But still."

Stefan sighs. "I would have chosen you. I wanted to, the moment you came up to me today."

"Hmm."

"I couldn't though. Because Care, I'd rather have our story just the way it is. I like our story."

Caroline finally cracks a smile. "Just drive," she gestures to the now green light.

Stefan smiles and starts to accelerate.

"You can finally show me the Falls."

"Shut up."

They didn't let go of each other's hands the whole drive.

* * *

 **This isn't as great as I hoped it would be :/ But here you go lol.**

 **Review! Favorite! Follow! And if you have a request for a drabble/one-shot, tell me in the reviews or PM me!**


	3. Dance With Me

**My own little fantasy of Siren Stefan and Caroline. Basically my fantasy includes Cade forcing Stefan to turn off his humanity and Caroline being desperate to save Stefan.**

 **I recommend you play Nitesky by Robot Koch when you get to a specific dance scene in this chapter :)**

 **EDIT AS OF 12-20-16: Okay wow, when I started writing this I had no idea that Stefan would actually turn his humanity off and that 8x09 would include Ripper Stefan and Miss Mystic Falls SO THIS ONE-SHOT MAY BE SIMILAR TO WHAT MAY HAPPEN according to how Julie totally dodged the Steroline dance question just like she did with the June wedding aYEE**

* * *

"Champagne?" Damon offers a glass to his brother as he approaches him near the walls.

Stefan takes the glass with a nod and takes a sip, letting his eyes wander for the person they're looking for. Tanner Johnson - apparently, he's punched his girlfriend once. The plan was simple, they'd done it before. Look for him, find him, compel him to find out if he's the person they're looking for, take him outside and, well.

Send his soul to Cade.

They were currently in some high-fashioned ball in Whitmore - similar to the Founders' Party back in Mystic Falls but way fancier. Damon and Stefan had to blend in so they owe they wore their best suits and pretended to just be casually attending the ball.

Stefan couldn't help feeling bored due to the fact that Tanner hadn't shown up yet. "Damon, are you sure this is the place?"

"Can you not sense that this is the place?" Damon retorts.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I'm bored."

"That's why I got you a drink."

"I feel a little _hungry_ ," Stefan whispered the last word. Damon turned towards him as realization dawned on his face.

"Well, brother, there's a crowd full of souls who've done immoral deeds. Take your pick." Damon gestures towards the ballroom where a bunch of rich, well-dressed people are conversing casually as if they are the innocent, poor souls they claim to be.

Stefan grins and looks around. His eyes set on a young red-headed girl who seemed to be around twenty-five years old. She was surrounded with her best friends and was laughing and having a great time. But Stefan could sense the evil looming inside her heart.

He was just about to walk over, when suddenly, his ears perked up at a faded yet recognizable giggle coming from the entrance. Stefan immediately looked over and saw none other than Caroline Forbes walk in with a smile.

What the hell.

Stefan groaned to himself. Caroline had been following him nonstop ever since he started serving Cade and had been trying to convince him of their love, as if he forgot about it. It's not like his memories were taken away like Damon's. Cade just took his humanity and its trigger switch away. He didn't feel anything for her. His ears had enough of her lectures.

 _"Stefan, I'm not going to stop trying for us."_

 _"Stefan, we're going to get married."_

 _"Stefan, remember I've already seen your dark side."_

 _"Stefan, I'll save you."_

Jesus Christ, she won't even remove her engagement ring. She's just annoyingly obsessive.

And now she's here.

His eyes flashed with irritation as he watched her smoothen out her dress. She was wearing a wine red dress with no straps and flowed around her. She looked okay but it didn't mean Stefan was going to fall for her immediately.

He quietly hummed the Siren tune to make him and his brother appear invisible.

Damon cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"

"Caroline's here. If she doesn't see us, she'll leave," Stefan explained to his brother, turning away from her, sipping his champagne.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, she'll think we're killing someone and she'll go looking for us."

"I mean, are you sure she's here for us?"

Stefan furrowed his brows. "Who would she be here for?"

Damon gestured towards her direction. "That Zac Efron look alike."

Stefan turned towards her again and widened his eyes.

Whoa.

Some random guy was now holding her hand and she was beaming at him as he led her towards the dance floor.

"Who's that?" Stefan wondered.

"I don't know. Her new boyfriend, maybe."

Stefan clicked his jaw. It's not that he felt threatened or anything, he didn't really care. But he didn't think Caroline would move onto some other guy so fast, especially since just three days ago, she was trying to get some emotion out of him by shoving a bunch of memories in his face.

"I don't think you're right."

Damon rolls his eyes. "You're right," he sarcastically muttered just as he took a sip of his drink. "Maybe he's just a sex buddy."

Sex buddy. And Caroline Forbes.

Yeah right.

Stefan couldn't help but stare at them and feel a little anxious as the Zac Efron guy whispered something in her ear, making her chuckle. What the hell is he saying? Why is it so loud in this damn ballroom?

Stefan didn't care.

He was just curious.

And getting the feeling that Caroline was plotting something.

Stefan continued to watch them, kind of looking out for Tanner but not really. He felt uneasier as the Zac guy took her to dance to an exceptionally slow song.

Right as the Zac Efron guy brought her hips closer to his, Stefan drew a sharp breath.

"Easy, brother," Damon laughed. "She's not your girlfriend."

"I know that," he snapped. Obviously, he doesn't like Caroline at all. She's annoying. He can't even remember why he fell in love with her in the first place. Let's face it - his emotions made him an idiot.

"Then why are you looking at Zac like you wanna kill him?"

Stefan paused for a second just as Zac Efron moved his eyes to Caroline's lips.

Then he made a decision.

"Because I do."

Stefan hummed again to make himself visible and walked over to them, placing his glass on some waiter's tray.

Meanwhile, Caroline had warning bells going off in her mind.

 _He's about to kiss me, what do I do? Oh my God, this wasn't supposed to happen. What do I do? Crap, crap, crap..._

Just as Adam inches his lips closer to hers, a very familiar voice breaks her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Caroline!" Stefan calls with fake enthusiasm. Caroline immediately moves away from Adam and turns her head towards him.

What the hell?

"Stefan?" Caroline furrows her eyebrows.

"Someone's surprised." Stefan grins at her wickedly, stepping towards her and her new beau. Stefan couldn't help but feel satisfied at the fact that this guy wasn't nearly as strong as him and Stefan still held a couple inches over him. He could easily snap his neck here but somehow, he wanted to make his death a little longer...a little brutal...a little harsher...

"What are you doing here?" Caroline demanded quietly. If Stefan was here, this meant he was here to kill someone. She couldn't let that happen under her watch.

"None of your business," Stefan shrugged, locking eyes with her. "It's between Damon and I."

"Stefan..." Caroline sighed. She needed to find out what he was planning before consequences resulted.

"Caroline." Stefan smiled, suddenly grabbing her hand and pulling it to his lips, kissing it gently yet firmly. Caroline widened her eyes and could practically feel herself melt.

 _God, it's just a hand kiss, Caroline. Calm down._

Stefan kept her hand in his, using it to pull her forward gently. He looked down for less than a second before looking back up at her with a tight smile.

"No ring, huh?" Stefan muttered quietly as he traced over her left ring finger with his thumb where Caroline usually had her engagement ring placed. Her hand felt empty without it. She was immediately flooded with guilt at his words, even though she had taken it off for Adam. It's not that she wanted to take it off, but in order to get what she wanted from Adam, she had to appear like she wasn't involved with anyone.

"It was just-" Caroline tried to explain.

"I don't care," he interrupted her. His eyes were stubborn as he avoided her attempt to reach out to him.

Caroline bit her lip, upset. She really didn't mean to hurt him.

"And, you are?" Adam clears his throat, turning Stefan's attention away from Caroline.

Stefan grinned and grabbed Adam's hand, giving a firm handshake. "I'm Stefan Salvatore. From Mystic Falls. I'm also her ex-fiance." Stefan gestured towards Caroline, ignoring her embarrassed expression.

"Oh?" Adam coughs. "I didn't know Caroline was engaged."

Caroline opens her mouth to attempt to fix what just happened but Stefan beats her to it. "Actually, she was engaged twice," Stefan shrugs, giving a sinister smile. "First time, she didn't really like the guy - she got engaged for their twins."

"Caroline has kids?" Adam blurts out.

"Surrogate kids, but she became sort of their real mother later. Anyway, then obviously she loved me more and yup - popped the question." Stefan casually puts an arm around Caroline's shoulders.

She was _so_ going to kill him.

"That's, uh..." Adam looks from her to Stefan with an uneasy stare.

She needed to fix this.

"Okay, Stefan," Caroline casually stepped away from him, letting his arm drop. She ignored his arrogant smirk and looked back at Adam, thankful for the song change. "Hey, Adam, let's dance."

"Um, sure." Adam avoids Stefan's glare and reaches out to take Caroline's hand. She squeezes it as he leads her to the other side of the dance floor. She glances back at Stefan for just a second to see him rolling his eyes at them.

Caroline huffs and turns towards Adam, explaining and trying to convince him that everything was okay.

Fixing Stefan's mess.

What are the odds.

* * *

Stefan was so sick of that idiot.

He wanted to kill him already.

Stefan couldn't stop staring at them. How was she so happy dancing with _him_? Is it an act or is she for real?

What agitated him even more was that she wasn't paying any attention to Stefan.

Nothing at all.

Nada.

It threw him off but also pissed him off.

Literally, only a couple of days ago, she was trying to bring him back by shoving old pictures and letters into his face. She wasn't letting go of him.

What happened now?

He was confused about her ring, too. According to her, it symbolized that she would not give up on them. Now she's not wearing it? Does that mean she gave up? Already?

 _Why do I care?_

Stefan shook his head, scolding himself silently for even thinking about it. He looked up at the happy couple again and sighed. This stupid ball was a bust. Tanner didn't even show up. His siren instincts were clearly on a bust.

Caroline looked like she was having a great time. Caroline, who had just been told barely two days ago that her ex fiancé couldn't care lass about her. She was happy.

Because of the stupid Zac Efron doppelgänger.

Just as he was about to look away to find Damon and tell him they'd find Tanner someplace else, the wannabe decided to slide his hands down to her waistline and pull her closer to him so that their hips were touching.

Stefan recoiled.

What. The. Hell.

He immediately left his spot and walked straight towards them just as the wannabe was tilting his head towards Caroline's lips.

"Well, _hey_ there, Caroline!" Stefan exclaimed, making the wannabe jump away from her. Stefan glared at him from the corner of his eye. _I'm so gonna kill him._

Caroline whipped her head to turn to him in an instant with a hint of relief in her eyes. "Stefan," she responded cooly.

Stefan smirked, ignoring the wannabe's frustrated expression. He neared up to her and held out a hand. "Dance with me."

She looked at him to her annoying date who sighed before letting go of her. "Go ahead," he mumbled to her.

Caroline nodded at him before turning back to Stefan. Without a word, she took his hand and let him lead her away to another spot on the dance floor. As they walked quietly, the song changed and more couples walked onto the dance floor to sway to the mellow beat.

Right when they reached their spot, Caroline turned to him to grab his shoulders a safe distance away, but Stefan had other plans. He immediately grabbed by her waist and wrapped his arm around her, letting his hand lightly hold hers as she grabbed onto his shoulder. Caroline felt a little uncomfortable - they were so close that she could hear his heartbeat. Stefan was staring right at her and she had no choice but to look away, avoiding eye contact, because there was no way in hell she'd look into those eyes right now.

"So, Zac Efron," Stefan casually brought up as they swayed. "What's up with him?"

Caroline glanced up at him, confused. "What?"

Stefan gestured at the place where Adam was standing a minute ago. "The guy you showed up with."

Caroline frowned. "His name's Adam."

"I don't care," he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes. "He's a friend of a friend. He told me to come with him, so I did. It's not a date or anything."

"I didn't ask if it was a date," Stefan clarified.

 _Yeah, right._

"But," he continued. "It wouldn't explain why your ring is missing."

Caroline groaned, gripping his shoulder tighter. "I took it off because he would think I'm with someone."

"And you didn't want that."

"It's complicated."

"Of course it is."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at how Stefan seemed ticked off by Adam. "You're _jealous_?"

Stefan scoffed. "Jealous of who?"

"Adam," Caroline smirked. "You're jealous of him being my date, aren't you."

Stefan glared at the annoying blonde who was grinning like she just won the lottery. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because your humanity is still in there, somewhere," Caroline murmurs, bringing her hand from his shoulder to his chest, right above his heart. Stefan tightens his jaw, ignoring the little flicker of serenity he feels as she gets closer to him.

"You're wrong," Stefan blatantly states.

"I'm right," Caroline smirks. "You're worried that Adam will start to slide into my heart, right into the spot where you were. You're worried that one day, I'll forget how I felt about you. You're worried that I'll be happier without you."

Stefan rolls his eyes. "Sorry, honey," he chuckles, grabbing her hand as he prepared himself to spin her. "That's just not right."

"But it is." Stefan twirled her around and pulled her back, accidentally pulling her too hard, causing Caroline to almost lose her balance and bump into Stefan. She immediately reached her hands out to stop from bumping into his face and made contact with his chest, with Stefan instinctively reaching out to grab her waist, keeping her upright. She was close. Very close.

Right at that moment, everything felt unreal.

Stefan's grin fell.

Everything faded.

The quiet chatter of the other guests?

Gone.

The overwhelming brightness of the chandelier?

Gone.

The need to punish someone for their sins?

Gone.

The thirst for blood?

Gone.

The only thing that was there was the muffled sound of the song. There was Caroline's dazzling blue eyes that were locked with his. Her hands, that were resting on his chest, which he felt an urge to cover with his own palms. The one strand of her curled hair that was covering her face, which he longed to brush away with his fingers. His hands on her waist, which he yearned to pull closer to meet his hips. Her nose, less than a centimeter away from his. Her lips, which he was compelled to meet with his own, right then. Right now.

Stefan didn't know what he was doing.

She stayed still, calculating his movements. Stefan's eyes were fixed on her lips, unsure why he felt like this.

 _Kiss her._

He was slowly, without even realizing it, moving forward, eyelids dropping further and further. His left hand left her waist to brush the strand of hair out of her face. Caroline's hands tightened on his suit, waiting for his kiss.

Before he knew it, he was barely an inch away from her lips. Stefan shut his eyes and moved closer, just brushing her lips with his and-

 _Wait a minute._

No.

What is he _doing_?

Stefan snapped his eyes open immediately and mentally screamed at himself. Her eyes were almost closed, looking at his lips, calculating his movements.

 _She almost got me._

 _She almost got me back._

Stefan clenched his jaw and let go of her immediately, running a hand through his hair as he stepped away, ignoring the couples dancing around him. Caroline was watching him, slowly realizing that he had almost lost his grip.

Because of her.

And that pissed him off.

Stefan glared at her. "Stay away from me."

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "What-"

"I mean it," Stefan snapped. With that he walked past her, leaving her confused.

Caroline sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Well.

At least she knew she had some effect on Stefan.

And that thought was enough to make her grin with hope.

* * *

 **Review! Leave some requests for one-shots! Or PM me, whichever you'd like :)**


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